Closing the shop after their first working day, Delia was counting the earned coins with a satisfied look. The gleam of the metal briefly brightened her mood, darkened earlier by the morning's events.
Qinxuan sat beside her, watching thoughtfully. It seemed the girl's thoughts were wandering far away.
— Ninety-nine… one hundred… one hundred and one gold coins and twenty silver, — Delia finally declared, unable to hide her pride.
— And that's just for the first day! She paused, her joy fading slightly. — Tell me… how much will the antidote cost?
Pulled from her thoughts, Qinxuan considered the answer.— It's hard to say the exact amount.
We'll need to go to the central market to find out. But roughly — from five hundred to a thousand gold coins.
— … — Delia's lips twisted silently.
— You knew it wouldn't be cheap, — Qinxuan said gently. — The poison itself poses little danger, but the wounds it causes are difficult and expensive to treat. Of course, I could wait until my inner fire fully awakens and heal myself with it, but that would take too much time.
— How long? — Delia asked softly.
— A month for the fire to recover. And another month for it to heal the damage.
— Suppose we find everything we need, but… — Delia frowned. — I heard that restoring meridians is something only the best alchemists on the continent can do. And alchemy requires inner energy. How are you going to create medicine in your condition?
Qinxuan smiled faintly at the concern in Delia's voice.
— It seems you don't really understand what alchemy is.
— Only what I've overheard in passing.
— Then I'll explain briefly. Alchemists are divided into apprentices, masters, grandmasters, and saints of alchemy. There are probably ranks beyond those, but I don't know anything about them. The apprentice rank can be learned even by an ordinary person, as long as they have access to an alchemical room with proper tools. Fortunately, the Trade Guild rents such rooms. All we'll need is to gather the ingredients and rent a room.
— Perfect, — Delia exhaled. — And you, what rank are you?
— I'm…
«Bang! Bang! Bang!»
A persistent knock sounded at the door. Delia immediately stood up.— Leave it to me.
She approached the door and focused for a moment before opening it, trying to sense danger. Feeling nothing threatening, Delia let the guest in.
The woman in a green dress with a veil on her face headed straight toward Qinxuan, but Delia stepped between them, blocking the way.
Qinxuan rose and gently pulled Delia aside, seating her on a chair.— Calm down. She's not an enemy. And… I think we might even become friends in the future. Try to be polite.
Delia grumbled darkly:— I already let my guard down once. There won't be a second time.
— Forgive her, — Qinxuan said to the guest. — After the morning incident, she's become a little… overprotective.
The woman smiled slightly behind the veil.— No need to apologize. I've heard about what happened this morning, so I completely understand.
Qinxuan nodded.— Good to hear. Let's begin with introductions. My name is Anna, and this is my friend Delia. We opened this small medical hall together.
— My name is Qinshe, — the woman said, removing the veil. Her face — beautiful, yet marked by a scar running from cheek to chin — was revealed for a moment before she hid it again. — I'm the leader of one of the mercenary groups in this city.
Delia quickly recovered from her surprise and gave a slight bow:— Nice to meet you. And sorry for being harsh.
— Think nothing of it, I understand, — Qinshe replied, waving off the apology.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qinxuan turned to business.— I wanted to ask: do you happen to know who those two were?
Qinshe pondered for a moment.
— Possibly. Though I'm not certain. About a month ago, a new organization appeared in the city calling itself the Hell Palace.
Their leader calls himself its Lord, but his identity — as well as the number of followers — remains unknown. Their influence keeps growing, and they appear in all sorts of incidents around the city.
Delia clenched her fists; a murderous intent radiated from her.
— Hell Palace… Once I find where they are, they'll understand what real hell is.
Qinxuan gently touched her hand.
— That's not our priority right now. Let's return to your issue, — she said, addressing Qinshe. — And discuss the treatment method.
— So what's wrong with me?
— You're infected with a parasite called an Energy Caterpillar. It seems you ate some kind of spiritual fruit and swallowed its larva. Once it gathered enough energy — about a week ago — it matured, and you began experiencing regression.
— Yes, you're right, — Qinshe agreed. — About a month ago, during a mission, I was lucky enough to obtain a Spiritual Peach. With it, I hoped to break through to the Earth Rank, and at first everything went well — the progress was obvious. But later it stopped, and, as you said, about a week ago I started feeling myself grow weaker. Honestly, I've never heard of such a problem after eating Spiritual Peaches.
— That's not surprising. Those fruits are rare, and the parasites on them even rarer.
— So how are you going to get rid of it? — Delia asked.
— Not me — we. You'll help me. In fact, without you it won't work at all. Your ability to transfer energy is essential.
— Can you be more specific? How exactly are you going to get rid of it?
— This parasite has three forms: larva, young, and adult. Right now it's in the second stage and absorbs a huge amount of energy to transition to the third. If we try to remove it now, it will sense the threat and hide somewhere else in the body. But during the transition to the adult stage, it falls into a several-hour sleep. We'll accelerate that transition by flooding it with energy. Then I can remove it easily.
— But transferring energy from one person to another is extremely dangerous. A small mistake and the receiver could be crippled, — Qinshe said anxiously.
— I assure you, nothing bad will happen. Once the transfer begins, you'll see for yourself.
— …Alright, — Qinshe agreed after a pause.
Upon receiving permission, Qinxuan began the operation.
She asked the patient to remove her dress and remain in her underwear. Qinshe obeyed, revealing a body covered in scars.
Delia couldn't help but glance at the toned muscles and neat abs a few times, but quickly averted her eyes, feeling a touch of embarrassment.
Qinxuan pointed to a spot slightly below the navel.
— Place your hands here and begin the energy transfer. Slowly at first, then gradually increasing the flow.
Receiving the instructions, the girl stepped closer.
Her gaze first settled on the indicated point, but then drifted upward… lingering for a moment on Qinshe's impressive chest.
Feeling something, her eyes moved further and met the woman's steady gaze. Flustered, cheeks flushing, she quickly looked away and focused on her task.
Placing her palms on the woman's abdomen, she closed her eyes — still feeling the heat in her cheeks — and slowly began the process of absorbing and transferring energy.
Amused by her reaction, Qinshe fully relaxed her body and offered no resistance to the foreign energy.
Her worries gradually faded. More than half an hour passed, and nothing bad happened. The sensations from the girl's hands were gentle and pleasant — even slightly enjoyable, sending goosebumps across her skin and quickening her breath.
Neither Delia nor Qinxuan noticed, as the first had her eyes closed, and the second was fully focused on the parasite.
Several hours passed. The parasite, saturated with energy, began its transformation. Feeling a sudden surge, Delia stepped back and sat on the floor, closing her eyes and entering meditation.
Seeing she was fine, Qinxuan proceeded with her part. After giving the patient a numbing brew, she applied a hemostatic ointment to the area, and ten minutes later made a careful, long incision with a scalpel.
Widening it with a retractor, she found the target: an elongated segmented body with smooth bluish skin and large mandibles. Curled into a ball, the parasite was calmly completing its transition.
With a slight motion, she hooked it with tweezers, extracted the caterpillar, and placed it into a prepared jar with solution. Then she quickly and neatly stitched the cut and applied healing ointment — the operation was flawless.
Almost immediately after, a powerful aura burst outward from Delia — she had broken through to the third level of Mortal Rank. Stretching and flexing, she walked up to her friend and curiously peered into the jar.
— It really does look like a caterpillar… I wonder what kind of fish you could catch using it as bait?
— I'm not sure about fish. But it would certainly be an extravagant lure. This caterpillar is actually a very valuable alchemical ingredient, — Qinxuan said, then added in a cheerful voice: — And by the way, congratulations on your breakthrough.
— Thanks, — Delia replied brightly.
While they waited for Qinshe to wake from the numbing brew, the girls exchanged news and discussed plans.
— Now that you've reached the third rank, you need battle experience. Watching the tournament and participating in it is a good opportunity.
— I don't like such gatherings, but if you say so, I'll do it.
— I thought you liked fighting.
— Fighting, yes. Performing in public — no.
— Well, there's another option: go into the forest and fight magical beasts.
— No, thanks. I don't want to injure animals for no reason. The arena is better.
— Then it's settled: tomorrow we'll go to the market, and you'll take the tournament qualification.
— Mm.
Finishing the conversation, the girls noticed movement. Qinshe regained consciousness — holding her head, she slowly sat up.
Qinxuan didn't stop her: the wounds of high-ranked experts healed incredibly fast, especially with ointment.
Approaching the patient and lifting the jar, Qinxuan smiled:— Congratulations, it's a boy!
Half-dazed, Qinshe muttered.
— Wonderful… another freeloader on my shoulders.
Hearing her dry tone, Qinxuan played along.
— I see you have it rough. But now, without this little one, I'm sure the Earth Rank isn't far, and the burden on your shoulders will lighten.
Though the brew was strong, its effects faded quickly. Qinshe's mind cleared, and her gaze sharpened. Feeling a lightness in her body, as though a heavy weight had fallen away, she spoke quietly.
— These last weeks were torture — like an endless nightmare. The uncertainty and thoughts about it kept me awake at night. Weakness is fatal for someone who holds power. Not only for them, but for those around them. I've seen the consequences, and death isn't the worst part. Who would have thought that a simple impulse to check out a new medical hall would lead to the problem that tormented me being solved in just a few short hours.
Standing and bowing deeply, she continued.
— My gratitude to both of you is boundless. If you ever need help, you may come to me.
Without waiting for a reply, she turned toward the door.— Niko, come in.
A medium-height woman with light hair entered the room. After greeting the girls, she remained standing, awaiting orders from Qinshe. As she was about to explain, Qinxuan spoke first:
— No explanation needed. Precaution is always necessary, especially with those you entrust your life to.
Qinshe nodded gratefully, dressed herself, and left with her companion, leaving the girls a purse.
Opening it, they found ten golden banknotes — the equivalent of a thousand gold coins.
Seeing off their last client, they still had one more task before bedtime.